Govt. Head Meets FAO Director-General
Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, held, here Thursday, talks with Director-General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Qu Dongyu, who is taking part in the 33rd session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa, held on April 18-20 in Rabat. On this occasion, the Head of Government highlighted the particular interest that Morocco grants, Under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, to the agricultural sector and rural areas, to achieve integrated development and create added value, through successive strategies based on restructuring agriculture, improving productivity, putting investment at the heart of the agricultural equation, as well as promoting human capital, the Department of the Head of Government said in a press release. For his part, FAO Director-General welcomed the Moroccan experience in agriculture and the food processing industry, considering that the strategies adopted by Morocco over the last twenty years under the enlightened leadership of HM the King, can be an example to follow for the different African countries. He also underlined that FAO intends to develop its partnership with the Kingdom in a way that is beneficial to other African countries. Both parties also reviewed the mechanisms to strengthen the permanent strategic partnership between Morocco and FAO, which manages a portfolio in the Kingdom estimated at around $22 million in the areas of permaculture and rural development, as well as in terms of urgent interventions, the same source noted. They also welcomed the technical support offered by FAO, which has evolved significantly, through the implementation of projects responding to specific needs, towards a strategic partnership based on a programming approach. These talks were an opportunity to emphasize the importance of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa, for which the government has mobilized all the conditions for success, in order to make it an opportunity to exchange good practices, prospect partnerships and examine innovative solutions around agriculture and food systems.